2/22/2 0091Is geopolitics still relevant?Natalie KochFebruary 23, 2009Outline1. Continued relevance of geopoliticsgeopolitics2. Geopolitical culture3. Feminist geopolitics4. Post 9/11 imperial geopoliticsgp5. Case study: Uzbek‐American relations2/22/2 0092The continued relevance of geopolitics1. Empire and imperial discourses2. Religion and moral geographies3. Gender and militarizationContemporary American geopolitical cultureDiscourse Key Intellectuals LexiconEmpireNeo‐conservativesRumsfeldG.W. BushBarnettIgnatieffglobalizationcounterinsurgencyliberationHomeland securityCore/GapIgnatieffCore/Gap2/22/2 0093Feminist geopolitics1. Redefining the political2. The “God‐trick”3. Normative commitments?‐Human security ?‐Nonviolence?4Mliitiifl t ilit i i i4.Masculinities –inflect militarism in a given state & are thus important for understanding international politicsPost 9/11 imperial geopoliticsA. 9/11 Rescue Efforts1Gd di f1.Gendered images of rescue2. Re‐militarization of society3. Manhood as tied to fighting war /fighting war / protecting “womenandchildren”2/22/2 0094Gendered images of the rescuePost 9/11 imperial geopoliticsB. Terrorism1Titth1.Terrorist as the “faceless coward”2. US frontier myth –“savage war” against a “savage enemy” that is seen as a threat to civilization itself3. Captain America2/22/2 0095Post 9/11 imperial geopoliticsC. Religion1. Imagining Muslims as politically misguided and prone to extremism2. 2 media portrayals of Muslim womena. passive victimsb.active political agentsb.active political agentsVictim or ex tremist?2/22/2 0096Moral geographies:Justifying US military action in the Middle East1. Liberating Muslim women from male oppressors2. Neoliberal aid programs: success = female liberation (creating honorary men) http://video.nytimes.com/video/2008/10/07/world/asia/1194819782105/empowering‐women‐in‐afghanistan.html?scp=1&sq=afghan%20women&st=cse3. But what about racial profiling / targeting of (Muslim) immigrants domestically?Case study: Uzbek‐American lirelations2005 Andijon Massacrehttp://video.nytimes.com/video/2006/06/21/world/1194817111815/uprising‐in‐uzbekistan.html?scp=2&sq=uzbekistan&st=cse2/22/2 0097US‐Uzbekistan Similarities1. Power of the anti‐terrorism discoursel• Masculinity scripts2. Glorification of the military(note the gendering of the protector role)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv3VVKmx‐3MUS‐Uzbekistan Differences:The Collapse of Cooperation1. United States legitimating scripts:ahuman rightsa.human rightsb. democracyc. free pressd. liberator ideal2. Uzbekistan (Soviet legacies)astabilitya.stabilityb. anti‐“color revolution” sentimentc. “great power” ideals – expectations of equal partnership2/22/2 0098“Geopolitical culture”1. How are threats to national security constructed?constructed?2. How are these threats mapped?3. How do these mappings structure strategic thinking?4. How do these mappings specify important vs. marginal places?5. How are these mappings used to justify (military) strategies for dealing with dangers in other
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